The Environment Is Big News—and a Big Topic of Discussion in the Classroom

Thanks to decades of dedication by teachers who have brought environmental topics into the classroom, today’s students are more educated about ecology and the natural world than ever before. And now, thanks to Hurricane Katrina, the hurricane and resulting flood that devastated a large part of the Gulf Coast in the summer of 2005, environmental issues have hit the front pages of newspapers and prime time TV newscasts. The environment is big news. And for a lot of kids, it’s scary news.

Global warming; polar bears facing extinction; colonies of bees dying all over the U.S.: these and other stories on TV have the potential of upsetting school-aged children. For teachers, this can be a big problem, or it can be an opportunity to engage children, to inform them of the problems and their possible solutions, and to excite children about scientific topics and procedures.

Luckily, written and video material abounds that teaches children about science and the natural world. Books, magazines, and DVDs are available that cover every conceivable topic. Teacher’s guides are available for many of the periodicals, offering suggestions for incorporating the material into the class curriculum. Much of this material is geared toward current environmental concerns.

Yes, the environment is a big, scary news story right now. But with the right material and a creative approach, teachers can redirect their students’ fears to learning, to scientific knowledge and to developing an activist approach to the world that may send some of these young people into the direction of solving many of these serious worldwide problems.